What My Best Friend Taught Me About The Meaning Of Love

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“I’m dating a girl.” This may not be something you would expect to hear during dinner with your best friend.

A little while ago, one of my best friends had come out to me, and it completely changed the way I see the world that we live in. I grew up in a place where being ‘different’ was unacceptable. The society has taught me just to be same as everyone else, just to be ‘normal’.

Therefore, I grew up with a small voice, always trying to stay in this small community where people see me as normal, and never questioned it. I had no clue what was wrong with it.

But here’s what my best friend has taught me about being ‘different’ and how there’s nothing wrong about it. When she came out to me, she told be how difficult it was for her not to be afraid of losing me as a friend. “I couldn’t tell you this sooner just because you are my best friend”, she said. And it broke my heart in pieces. “What if she rejects me?” “What if I lose everyone who I care so much?” What if….. W h a t i f ?

But why do we all have to be scared of losing love over who we are? And I am sorry. I am sorry that you have to live in a world where makes you think, “WTF is wrong with me?”

The thing is, nothing’s wrong with you. Because you know why? You deserve to love, and to be loved. As life goes on, you lose people. But you need to make sure that you’re not one of the people who lose, and remember that you only need those who encourage you to be a better version of yourself than you were yesterday.

Sometimes we blind ourselves with the idea of people we should be, the path we should take, to be the society-appropriate. But at the end of the day, ‘you’ should be the one who matters the most. How you felt, how deeply you loved, how fiercely you lived. And you should never apologize for that.

This cruel society may makes you feel like your struggle and pain don’t deserve attention. But I want you to remember that I see you, even when you feel invisible. I see you. And I hope that someday, you will see the light that I see inside of you.